jzarley

Another interesting thing—consumer products (aka merch) was moved out of DX (Disney Experiences) and into Entertainment. This follows video gaming which also moved out of DX into Entertainment earlier in the year. Gaming definitely seems like a good match in Entertainment, especially considering how immersive the storytelling in video games has gotten to be. I was a little more surprised about the move of Products…

So, it’s interesting that they use the “Jason” name and imagery, but not the actual Friday the 13th IP and logos?

I waited around 4 hours for FoF on a summer evening back in June of 1996. I had driven down from Columbus after work soon after it opened, thinking a weekday evening wouldn’t be too bad. The line stretched all the way down Coney Mall and wrapped around past Vortex! The rumors going into the official announcement was that the ride was going to be Star Trek themed around the DS9 wormhole. I still think that would have been a much better theme 😀 It’s weird to think that was the very first LIM launching coaster and was absolutely cutting edge at the time—now it seems like the majority of new coasters built are launchers (of one technology or another) 🙂

This is the first coaster in a long time that I’ve thought has really pushed the boundaries of being something completely unique. The ride sounds absolutely amazing, but with anything cutting edge I have two pessimistic predictions: it will open significantly later than scheduled; and will suffer huge amounts of downtime (at least in its first few years). But, I think those who are able to get a ride will think its incredible. I’m sure its been mentioned and I’ve just missed it, but who is the manufacturer?

Isn’t their Batman the very first B&M suspended inverted as well?

I rode Kumba for the first time in ‘94 or ‘95 and at the time thought it was absolutely amazing. Compared to the Arrow multi-loopers it was just so smooth and fast. I rode it for the last time maybe five or six years ago and after I got off I thought “am I more prone to headaches now, or is this thing just really head-bangy anymore?” (Maybe a bit of both…) But I don’t think the old OTSR B&M loopers have kept their allure—I’d say the same thing for Rougarou and Kraken as well. When I worked for SEA I asked one of the engineers one time why they couldn’t just replace the OTSR restraints on Kraken with the new “vest” type of restraints (like on GateKeeper and other newer B&Ms) because I thought that would make a huge difference in ride comfort. He told me that the restraints couldn’t simply be retrofitted on the existing B&M trains—it would require new trains (and possibly some track modifications for those new trains) and it would be cost prohibitive on an “old” coaster.

I worked with Mark at SEA as well. This probably isn’t a surprise considering how long he and John worked together. Mark also didn’t leave SEA under the happiest circumstances either if I recall.

Sounds like a good mix of dining 😊. For future trips I’d recommend a few often underrated restaurants that are my favorites (and not just for the CM discount 😀) — Flying Fish (at the Boardwalk), Toledo & Three Bridges (at Coronado) and Jiko & Sanaa (at AK Lodge). These aren’t necessarily the most kid-friendly favorites but the food is really good at all of them. I also really like Topolino’s Terrace—I’ve been there for dinner, but heard they have a really good character breakfast as well.

Well, that should definitely provide a boost to Q1’s revenue (assuming the volume of memberships is there)

I’ve read the description of memberships, but I’m still unclear on one thing—are they continuous? Do you pay monthly every month without any sort of break between seasons? (Meaning if my home park was KI I’d still pay in Jan/Feb/March?). If so, this doesn’t sound a lot different than my Universal Orlando pass—I pay monthly, then at the end of year I get an email saying that my 12 month rotation is coming to an end but if I don’t want to change anything about my AP it will just continue uninterrupted (usually with a slight monthly $ increase of course…). However, the primary difference is that Universal (barring a hurricane) is open 365 days/year.

You wouldn’t think that a 50 year-old IP franchise was just what a 30 year-old coaster needed, but it certainly was

Just a commentary, but in a decade or so of going to HHN at UO, I have never paid as little as $88 for admission 😀 (Granted, my schedule typically doesn’t allow me to go anytime other than a weekend.) I would get a free admission on select nights with my AP, but that rarely works either schedule-wise. I also consider HHN pretty much unusable without Express anymore (even then, last year we still had some houses that had a 30-45 min wait with Express). On a Friday night in early October the cost for HHN admission & Express for three of us was nearly $1,100 for the roughly 4 hours we were there. As a point of comparison, I have a trip booked at CP late August this year that includes 2 admissions for 2 full days to CP; that ride & refresh free drink package for both days; and 2 nights at Hotel Breakers for $980. In comparison, I consider that a lot bigger bang for my buck 😀

Not entirely unrelated, but I saw my very first “real” concert (Tears for Fears) at Timberwolf in 1985 😀

I was really hoping that CP would announce the addition of a new sit-down restaurant in either the old Melt or Famous Dave’s marina spaces (or, both). There’s not a lot of full-service after-park dinner options available now other than TGI Fridays (not a fan of Bay Harbor) so will probably give the hibachi place in Breakers a try this year. Yeah, I know Famous Daves just moved over to Castaway Bay, but the part I like about that vacation the best is once I land at Hotel Breakers I don’t get in the car or leave the peninsula for two days 😀

This is a smart move to correct a mistake that should have never been made in the first place. Even as Hillpath has cut & cut & cut budgets at the United parks, not even they were foolish enough to remove the park President/GM role. (Although, I have to feel for the people who lost their job to this reorganization only to have it reversed like a year later…). A large theme park like KI, CP, etc. is essentially its own little city, and as such needs a “mayor” with the authority to make decisions and keep the city operating.